Two men, aged 20 and 21, have been arrested on suspicion of causing an explosion following an incident in Worle, near Weston-super-Mare at around 4.20am today.

We were called to the Appletree Court area just before 4.30am, by members of the public who reported hearing two loud bangs.

We put a 100m cordon around the area, at the roundabout near LIDL and Summerhouse public house on New Bristol Road, and evacuated properties as a safety precaution.

We called in experts from the Amy EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit. They found a small device but assessed that the device did not pose an ongoing risk to the public. The incident is not currently being treated as terrorism or domestic extremism related.

The cordon was lifted just after 9am and people were allowed back into their homes. A small lane in Appletree Court, where the device was found, is still closed while we search for forensic evidence. An address nearby is subject to a police search.

DI Rich Horsfall, investigating officer, said: “We appreciate that there has been a lot of disruption and inconvenience for people in the local community today.

“Our enquiries are continuing and we would like to thank the local community for their patience while we’re dealing with this incident.

“All efforts will be made to keep disruption to a minimum while we investigate the circumstances of this matter over the next couple of days.

“We will do our best to communicate and ensure that residents in the local community are kept informed as much as possible.

“Our priority will always be public safety and with that in mind we have to take precautionary measures when dealing with investigations of this type.”

Neighbourhood officers will be in the area patrolling to provide additional reassurance to the community.